Discussion / Debate Topics

Bo is available for radio and TV interviews, podcasts, speaking engagements, and debates. The following is a suggested list of topics, although not comprehensive.

Does God Exist?

God exists, but far more likley as a concept than a being.

Can Life Have Meaning Without God?

Certainly. In fact, without the idea of divine meaning, we are free to give our lives our own meaning.

Is the Universe “Fine Tuned” for life?

Tuning implies a “tuner”. Something that must be tuned must also have been out of tune (imperfect) to start with. The initial laws and conditions of the universe are not bound to any laws, and therefore work because they are, not because they are tuned.

Do Objective Moral Values Exist?

No, they don’t. Morality is a human-created concept that changes over time and different among cultures. The ideas of “right”, “wrong”, “good” and “evil” are nothing more than subjective ideas that exist only in our minds.

Do Miracles Happen?

While nobody can say for sure they don’t, it is extremely unlikely that they do, or ever did. It is easy to demonstrate the psychology behind miracles as well as debunk claims today.

Do We Have Freewill?

Virtually all people, religious and non, accept that we have some type of freewill. The fact is, we are much more bound to determinism than most people think.

Can We Choose What We Believe?

Belief is many deterministic factors that are outside out control. So if we are not completely free to believe just on the basis of desire, the idea of salvation based on belief is flawed.

Is Faith Really a Good “Virtue” to Have?

Faith, or believing in something with no evidence, is dangerous in many ways.

What Does it Really Mean to Be “Spiritual”?

Spirituality does not mean believing in another world filled with beings and creatures; it is about having control over your emotions and inner happiness.

Does Heaven and Hell Exist?

Our modern-day concepts of Heaven and Hell are so mythologized, that they are very little like the afterlife portrayed in the Bible. But even the Biblical afterlife ideas are widely varied and based on ancient beliefs. If such places do exist, we have absolutely no idea what they are like.

Is There a Point to Prayer?

Study after study, prayer has been shown to have mixed results -- just like one would expect from any factor that had no effect on the outcome. Prayer has its benefits, but they have nothing to do with the divine.

Do Christians Today Really Know About God?

Not at all. Most Christian’s idea of God is the “Gentle Jesus” of the New Testament, and remain (deliberately) ignorant of the Vengeful God of the Old Testament, as well at the Jesus who threatens eternal torture and suffering.

Do We Need God?

We, as a species, do not need God. But many people do need the idea of God.

Can We Rely on the Authority of the Bible?

No, we can’t. The Bible is far from a historical and scientific textbook.

Is Christianity True?

Much of what Christianity is based on is believed by many, to be historical fact. Christianity is really based on theologized stories with little, or no historical, factual, or scientific basis.

Registered User Comments

Donald

Monday, November 28, 2016 - 03:07:24 AM

I cannot deny that God is light, love and spirit, that much is obvious direct statement. I really want to be open-minded to what the CONCEPT posits. As a recovering Pharisee (gracephobic) I was afraid of what intellectual pollution open mindedness might bring me. I survived having ten pounds of learning forced into my seven pound mind, so, I begin the CONCEPT with near unbridled anticipation.

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If you spent your life assuming "God" was the answer to all of life's biggest questions, but can no longer believe, you might have many questions that begin with the phrase, "If there is no God..." If there is no God, how did we get here? If there is no God, what's the point of life? If there is no God, where does our morality come from"? If there is no God, won't the world collapse in anarchy with murdering, coveting thy neighbor's wife, and eating shellfish? These are just some of the common questions to which there are good answers. These courses will help you build a strong foundational secular worldview based in science and reason.

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